3 Things You Should Know About Small Business: Dec. 5

1. Are small businesses really creating jobs? There is a debate over whether small businesses are truly the job creators everyone makes them out to be. According to Yahoo! (YHOO) Finance's Michael Santoli, large companies were responsible for 65% of net job gains from 1990 to 2011, CNBC cites. However Eric Schurenberg, editor-in-chief of Inc., said small businesses account for a majority of jobs in the country.

The magazine ranked the top 100 small businesses by job growth between 2008-2011, noting that the companies on the list have created a combined 73,032 new jobs during that three-year period, the CNBC article says.

Go Daddy and Greek yogurt maker Chobani are among the companies that made the list, along with less-familiar names like Universal Services of America, a security and janitorial service provider, which has created 17,330 new jobs since 2008, the article says.

And what about 2013? Approximately 92% of those that made the list plan to hire more employees next year.

2. Couples who divorce but still share a business. According to the U.S. Census, about 3.7 million businesses are owned by husband and wife. Given the high rate of divorce, sticking together in business even after the marriage fails is becoming more common. To make the best of the situation, The New York Times offers a guide of key points to consider when going through a divorce but staying together in business.

The most important aspect is to remain respectful. Divorces are often messy, painful and expensive. But even if there is anger between husband and wife, there needs to be open communication, predictability and consistency with regards to the business, but most of all compassion.

If you do decide to continue working together, what's beneficial is getting professional help to ease the pain and awkwardness between former spouses as well as learning how to communicate without bringing personal issues into the mix.

Creating a legal agreement, something that's typical among business partners but less so between married entrepreneurs, is essential, the article says.

Finally, make sure to communicate to employees what's going on. When business partners go through a divorce, employees -- not unlike what happens with children -- tend to pick sides, which can prompt the company to fall apart.

Divorcing owners need to be upfront about what is happening and reassure employees that the company won't be affected, the article says.

3. SCORE and Sam's Club spread holiday cheer. Wal-Mart Stores' (WMT) Sam's Club plans to award a $1,000 gift card to 102 small businesses nationwide through its Holiday Giving Campaign.

Sam's Club is also partnering with small-business mentoring organization SCORE to offer a grant totaling $547,000 that will:

Provide business owners with access and travel to a two-day "High Speed Growth Seminar," a special training program featuring key executives and workshops on attracting customers, branding, online marketing and developing a sales plan; and

Fund three regional educational workshop events next year hosted by SCORE for any small business in those regions.